LEXINGTON, Ky. – It has taken much longer than he imagined — more than a year since he left school — but former University of Kentucky star Nerlens Noel is finally on the verge of making his NBA debut. It's only the Summer League in Orlando next month, but that'll do just fine for now.

"All this work I've put in since my injury, I've definitely been anxious to show it," said Noel, who was back in Lexington on Friday sharing his skills with kids at a Camp One event at Lexington Christian Academy. "It's probably been the toughest part of my life. Just not being able to play the game I love, and just coming back from this, I've learned not to take things for granted. When I step back on that court, it's really gonna be something special."

Noel's lone season at UK was cut short by a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in February of 2013. He averaged 10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.4 blocks in 24 games with the Wildcats before he went down in a heap against Florida.

Long projected the No. 1 pick in last year's draft, he slid all the way to No. 6 and spent most of his disappointing draft night dozing off in the "phone room," where the Philadelphia 76ers were finalizing a trade for him with the New Orleans Pelicans. More frustration followed when the Sixers decided to play it safe and hold him out for the entire season.

"I've been 100 percent for a while now. I'd say (since) early this year, around February," Noel said. "I felt I was ready, but you gotta look at the risk-and-reward factor of it. Definitely sitting out now was probably the most beneficial thing looking on into the future. I want to have a long, productive career."

So he went to work on the things he could: bulking up and ironing out his jump shot. The 6-foot-11 center was a string bean at Kentucky, weighing only about 215 pounds. He's almost 230 now but, he says, just as springy as ever.

"My vertical has increased. My legs feel a lot more explosive, just from the rigorous work that I've been doing the last 15 months," Noel said. Equally important: "I got my mind right, just set on summer league and staying focused for that, preparing."

He laughed recalling his less-than-beautiful shooting mechanics in college. He no longer awkwardly lets fly from the left side of his head.

"It's still a work in progress, but I feel I have added some consistency to it," Noel said. "It's been a lot of work, a lot of patience, just working on such a slow-paced thing like that, just working on form shooting. It was tough at times — you just want to go out there and play — but I stayed disciplined."

Noel hopes to help form a talented young nucleus in Philadelphia, which needs all the help it can get after a 19-73 season in which the Sixers tied an NBA record by losing 26 consecutive games. But guard Michael Carter-Williams won the league's Rookie of the Year and Philly has the No. 3 and No. 10 picks in next week's draft.

"I wouldn't mind another fellow Wildcat on my team, that's for sure," Noel said, referring to UK's two latest projected lottery picks, Julius Randle and James Young. "We have a young team now. Just to add two more core pieces to our program is gonna be something special going into the future."

Noel was coach John Calipari's seventh top-10 pick in four drafts at Kentucky. Randle and Young could both join that list next week. They'll definitely give Calipari 19 draft picks, including 15 first-round selections in just five years.

So when Noel heard ESPN produced a list of the college coaches who are best at preparing players for the NBA and ranked Calipari tenth, he just shook his head.

"That's BS, man," Noel said. "He's No. 1. There ain't no other guy that could do it, especially in the time he does it — just one year, two years for a lot of guys. Anthony (Davis), John (Wall), DeMarcus (Cousins), I mean, look what they're doing now."

Soon, Noel hopes to be doing the same.

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.

The former University of Kentucky star was back in town Friday working with kids at a basketball camp. He says ESPN's ranking of college coaches who best prep players for the NBA is "BS."
Kyle Tucker